Putting the Pieces Together
by JulieLucia
Summary: Alice needs to get her life bag together and decides to travel around Europe. Along the way she'll get new friends and perhaps even the change of love.
1. Chapter 1 Prelude

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Prelude  
Pen name: Juliebutterfly  
Pairing: Alice  
Rating: M

**A/N:** This is a multi chaptered fic written for The Twilight 25 challenge, 25 prompts over 3 months.

A big thank you to FrogQueenLaurel for betaing this, and to Kay Cannon and Dahlia Black for their help and support.

The rating goes for the entire story, not this chapter alone.

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"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be landing at Heathrow International Airport in about 15 minutes, please fasten your seatbelts. The time here in England is now 8.37 am." The voice on the loud speakers woke me and I sat up, startled in my seat, a little confused from sleeping. For the most of the plane ride I had been too excited to sleep. But for the last half hour I had somehow managed to doze off. I should have tried to sleep more, seeing as it was now close to 9 in the morning and I was already feeling jet lagged, but it was too late for that now. I debated for a few seconds if I should take a quick nap once I arrived at the hostel, but quickly decided I would be too excited to sleep anyway. I was finally doing the thing I wanted, that is to travel, I was not going to let a little jet lag stop me. I could always crash early if I got tired.

As the plane got ready for landing, I had to pinch myself several times to make sure this was real. I had been wanting this for so long that I had trouble believing it was actually for real this time. I had been abroad before, traveling with my parents as a child and doing a few trips with my girlfriends through college, but this was the first time I was completely on my own. To say my parents were less than thrilled about this was the understatement of the century. My dad had thrown a complete tantrum when I told him. My mom hadn't said much but her silent disagreement spoke louder than words.

For most part, I considered myself an independent person, but when it came to my parents I was everything but. My dad was a scary man and he had a very clear plan as to what was best for his daughter and he could be very convincing when trying making sure that plan was followed through.

After graduating high school, I had wanted to take a gap year, just to work, clear my head and decide what to do for college. But according to my dad, there would be no such thing. I was going straight to college, no funny business. I had then tried to at least get out of Conneticut by applying to colleges in other states, but again my father had put his foot down. He was a Yale alumni and so would I be. The only thing he didn't have any influence over was my major. He tried very hard to push me in the direction of law school, but even he couldn't control everything so instead I majored in Art with a specialty in Pop Art. Not the most useful degree to end up with, but at least it was something I was remotely interested in. A small part of me also had to admit that my main reason for choosing that degree was to piss off my dad. At least with that degree, as useless as it might be, I was able to avoid working at his law firm for the rest of my life. No matter how hard he tried, my father couldn't find a reason to hire an Art major to work at his firm. I knew it was a huge disappointment to him and that thought alone was enough for me to justify my poor choice of major.

After finishing the undergraduate program, I had worked up the courage for weeks to tell my parents that not only would I not be going back to Yale, or anywhere else for that matter, for my graduate degree, I would actually be taking whatever job I could find so I could save enough money to travel around Europe for a while. Only after the vague promise of going back to grad school when I returned, had I convinced my mom that I should go to Europe and experience some of the art I had been learning about for four years now. The art really had nothing to do with me wanting to get out of there, but if that was what it took to convince my parents it was a good idea to let me go, I was happy to pretend that was the reason for it.

During all four years at college I had spent every school break helping my best friend Seth out at the upscale restaurant where he was working as a bartender. I started out working as a waitress, but during the last year in school, I worked as a hostess, both during holidays but also when someone called in sick. I didn't really need the money as my parents paid for school, so I put it all into a savings account instead.

Thanks to Seth I managed to get a full time job at the restaurant after college. I wasn't sure my savings was large enough for a 3 month backpacking trip through Europe so I pulled all the hours I could at the restaurant just to be on the safe side.

During the months I worked at the restaurant, I spent every free second I had studying maps and guide books, making long lists of places I wanted to go and things I wanted to see. Often Seth and I would get together after the restaurant closed, he would mix up some cocktails and we would make plans as to where I would visit.

After just about four months of working at the restaurant I had enough money saved up to book the trip. I bought a plane ticket to London, booked a hostel there along with a few other cities and decided to book the rest of the hostels along the way.

As the plane touched ground safely at Heathrow, I had to pinch my arm just once more to make sure that this was the real thing and not just a dream. It wasn't until I had gone through baggage claim and was actually standing outside on the street with my backpack that I was sure this was the real thing.

While I waited for the shuttle to take me into London, I searched through my purse for the directions to the hostel I would be staying at for the next few days. For once feeling impulsive and not caring to much as what the future would bring.

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**End note**: Thoughts, comments and reviews are always highly appreciated. Let me know what you think


	2. Chapter 2 Collide

**A/N** Once again thanks to **FrogQueenLaurel** for her quick beta skills, I'm so grateful for your help! Also thanks to my good friend **Kay Cannon** for always being there to brainstorm with me, I appreciate your help tremendously.

TheTwilightTwenty-Five  
Prompt: Collide  
Penname:juliebutterfly  
Pairing:Alice  
Rating: T

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London was everything I had expected it to be. Busy, exciting and also a bit overwhelming. I spent the next 3½ days trying to consume as much I possibly could of the city. I was exhausted when I got back to the hostel at night, but I was only here for a few days and I didn't want to miss out on anything. However, trying to see everything in less than 4 days quickly made me realize I couldn't keep up that pace for the 3 months the trip would last. I had to slow down a bit, otherwise I would quickly be too tired to enjoy anything.

I had booked a train to Amsterdam departing from London in the evening. It was a 6 hour trip and I had planned to use the time on the train to relax and maybe even catch up on some sleep. My body was still adjusting to the time difference and with all the new impressions I had of London I was starting to feel like a tired old lady already.

I had to switch trains in Brussels and according to my schedule I had 10 minutes to do so. I figured it would be enough, not really taking into consideration just how big the train station in Brussels actually was. Plus, all the signs were in Dutch and French which only added to the confusion. When I finally located the right track, I only had three minutes left and running upstairs with a very heavy backpack in heels is not as easy as it may sound. I got on the train with about 30 seconds to spare and quickly went looking for my seat. I located the correct compartment and tried to maneuver myself, and my enormous backpack, in there without knocking the other people over. I was trying to place my backpack on the baggage shelf, but I was too short to reach it and the backpack being as heavy as it was, I failed miserably. I stepped onto the seat, trying to gain some extra height so I could push the backpack up, but just as I tried to get the backpack up there, the train did an unexpected movement and I got knocked off balance. Before I fell flat on my ass, I felt an arm wrap around my waist to help me regain balance. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an arm catch my backpack just before it would have landed on someones head. I was pressed up against a stranger's body and when I turned my head to see who it was, I was met by a friendly pair of green eyes. I wanted to say something but before the words escaped from my mouth he beat me to it:

"Looks like you need a little help." His Scottish accent made my knees go soft and I was close to losing my balance again. It was like having Ewan McGregor talking directly in my ears.

"Are you okay?" He asked and I realized I hadn't said anything but rather just kept staring into his eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." I regained composure and he released me from his grip.

"You need any help with this?" He nodded towards my backpack which he was still holding on to.

"That would be great, thank you. Even with heels on I'm too short to reach the shelf. Plus, it's really heavy."

"Who backpacks in heels?" He laughed and in an swift movement my backpack was placed on the baggage shelf.

"Uhm.. short people I guess." I sat down in my seat and he returned to his, directly opposite mine, giving me a much better chance to really look at him.

"Have you been backpacking long?" He asked.

"No, this is my fourth day."

"Figured," he chuckled. "It's a rookie mistake to backpack in heels."

"What are you – some kind of backpacking expert?" I asked a little defensively. I couldn't remember the last time I had worn flats and it wasn't like I was walking around in 10 inches stilettos. These were 2 inches, tops. He let out a small snort before he answered.

"Well, I would hardly call myself an expert, but I am an avid traveler, and I'm willing to bet you'll be buying sneakers soon. How long are you traveling for?"

"3 months. Are you traveling too?"

"Well yes, sort of, I work for a traveling magazine. Right now I'm working on an article about traveling on an Interrail ticket so I'll get to do this for a few months and I even get paid while doing it." He shot me a smile while he ran his fingers through his hair before he continued

"I've been traveling a lot myself over the years on an Interrail ticket, so it's a fun task for me to do, looking at it from a writers perspective."

"So do you decide where you want to go yourself?" I asked.

"No, they send me to different cities, I'm headed to Haag right now. Where are you off to?"

"Amsterdam and then Berlin next. That's all I've planned ahead so far."

"Going to Amsterdam to check out the coffee shops?" He asked with a smile on his lips.

"No, for the art mainly. I majored in Art in college and Amsterdam has some great museums. So I've been told at least." I wasn't really sure why he was smiling at the whole coffee shop part, it looked like he was sharing some sort of private joke.

"Well Amsterdam is a lot of fun, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. They also have a lot of shoe shops so you'll have no trouble locating a place to get some sneakers once your feet get sore." He nodded towards me shoes and gave me a wink.

"You have a real problems with my shoes, but I assure you I'll be fine. I never wear sneakers and I doubt I suddenly will just because I'm carrying a backpack." I huffed.

"I think your shoes are hot. I'm just saying that after a few days of travel you'll probably need something without heels." He glanced down at his watch and got out of his seat. "It's my stop next, do you want me to take down the backpack for you? Amsterdam is only like 20 minutes away?"

"Sure that would be great," I said, grateful for not having to struggle with getting the backpack down myself.

"It was nice meeting you Alice. Enjoy your trip." He grabbed his stuff and gave me a wink before he got out of the compartment. I stared after him completely puzzled as to how he knew my name because I was positive I hadn't told him. It wasn't until I stared down at my backpack and saw the name tag "Alice Brandon" attached to it I realized he must had seen that. I stared out the window trying to catch one last glimpse of him, feeling a little annoyed with myself that now I would never know his name.

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**A/N:** Reviews are like meeting handsome Scottish strangers on a train – extremely awesome!

If you're not familiar with Amsterdam I should probably mention that coffee shops in Amsterdam means something a little different than it does in the rest of the world, you can always google it. It'll be helpful to know in the next chapter. And there really is _a lot_ of shoe shops there.

I set up my LJ page with some visual inspiration for this story, I expect to post pictures there for each chapter. **www(dot)juliebutterfly(dot)livejournal(dot)org**

Also, the lovely **MsKathy** is organizing a fundraiser for Haiti, donate at least $5 for the charity of your choice and receive a compilation with stories written by more than 200 fanfic authors, me includded. Check **www(dot)mskathyff(dot)blogspot(dot)com** to read more.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **The wonderful Mrs. The King has made today (28.02.10) appreciate your reader day, so before anything else I would like to say a big **THANK YOU** to everybody who ever took the time to read some of my stories. Thanks for giving them (and me) a chance. Your support is the reason these stories get posted.

This was originally intended for The Twilight 25 challenge over at LJ, but I've decided not to do it like that anymore. I've come to realize that I don't have the time to write 25 chapters before April 1st. In the end I think this story will benefit from it because it won't be rushed, the chapters will be posted when they are ready and not due to some overall deadline.

On a last note, thanks to **FrogQueenLaurel** and **Dani** who betaed this chapter for me. There should be an appreciate your beta day as well.

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The first thing I had to watch out for in Amsterdam was all the bikes. Even with having read about it in several guidebooks I was not prepared for exactly how many bikes there actually were in the city. Every time I tried to cross a street I had to look around for any bikes nearby, but after a few near death experiences with bikes I was starting to get the hang out if it.

I was only going to spend two whole days in Amsterdam, so despite my experience from London, I had a busy program planned. The art museums was on the top of my list, but I also wanted to sail along the canals and to see the Red Light District. My plan was however to visit that during the day time, not really sure it was a place to be after dark.

I decided to start my day with a cup of coffee, after all the hot guy on the train had mentioned coffee shops here, and I could use some caffeine to get my day started. I wanted to make sureI would have enough energy for everything I had planned. I didn't remember reading anything about the coffee being especially good in Amsterdam, but I could very well have skipped that part in the guide book not having paid much attention to the food and beverage sections.

I quickly realized that there sure was a lot of different coffee shops around the city. I recognized a few names from home, but most of the names I had never heard of before. It surprised me that the majority of the shops seemed to be small independent ones, hardly any of them had the same name.

I debated just picking one of the places I knew from home, but quickly decided that for the real Dutch experience I should choose of the unknown brands instead. I settled for a place close to the Red Light District, that would give me a chance to check it out quickly while drinking my coffee.

The coffee shop was dark and empty except for a blond guy with a ponytail who was standing behind the counter flipping through a magazine.

"Hi, can I get a tall latte to go please?" I asked.

"You want a latte?" The blonde guy stared at me with utter disbelief.

"Yes, to go please," I repeated.

"Hey Laurent!" the guy called towards the back, "she want's a _latte_!" A tall guy with dreadlocks appeared from the back room, I assumed he was the afore mentioned Laurent.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes. I would like a tall latte to go please," I repeated, a bit slower this time in case they had trouble understanding what I was saying.

The two guys looked at each other for a second before they completely bend over laughing, tears were actually streaming down the blond guys face. It took a while for them to recompose themselves and the one with the dreadlocks turned around to face me

"Sweetheart, would you like to see a menu?"

"Okay, sure..." I was a little hesitant, I didn't consider my request that complex, but maybe they had other words for latte here so I took the menu he handed me. Once I flipped it open I realized why the two guys had been laughing so hard at my order. The place didn't actually sell coffee, instead they offered a wide selection of pot, wheed, joints and smoking paper.

"So you don't actually sell _coffee _here?" I asked, slowly realizing what this was.

"No, not really," the blonde guy said whiping the tears of his face. "It's not exactly _that _kind of coffee shop."

"So what, all coffee shops here in Amsterdam doesn't really sell coffee, but pot?" I still had trouble realizing what was actually going on, this was not what I had expected at all.

"Well the ones that advertise themselves as coffee shops are well... places like this. The cannabis pictures on the sign didn't tip you off?"

"Ehm no, I didn't see that," I said, more than a little embarrassed that I hadn't paid attention to something that obvious.

"Let me give you a piece of advice here honey," the dreadlocks offered leaning in over the counter. "If you're actually looking for a place to drink coffee, stay clear of the places with cannabis drawings on the signs."

"Thanks, I'll remember that from now on," I nodded. I just really wanted to get out of there, the two guys were clearly making fun of me now and I had no desire so spend any more time in this place and I could hear them laughing behind me as I left the place.

Once I was out on the street again I looked around at the other coffee shops signs and realized that all of them had little drawings of cannabis on them. Now that I was aware of it, it was actually hard to miss and I felt really stupid for being so oblivious to it.

I managed to buy a latte from a regular cafe further up the street and with that in hand I went to get a closer look of the Red Light District. It really was red, even in the bright daylight. All over the place there were red neon signs and in all the window displays there were half naked girls waiting for some costumers to come along. I didn't like starring at them, but on the other hand it was hard not to do so, they were everywhere I looked, and if the windows didn't display girls it had a wide selection of porn instead.

I didn't feel like spending a lot of time in the area, instead I went back to the main area of the city and took a closer look at the architecture of Amsterdam. I enjoyed getting a closer look at all the canals, their bridges, the houses that were practically build right onto the water and all the houseboats that were anchored along the waterside.

I hadn't paid much attention to where I was going, I was so busy taking in the entire scene before me, so by pure chance I suddenly found myself looking over at the tour boats that were sailing around the canals. I realized it was possible to purchase a ticket for the entire day and then get on and off the boats as I wanted and one of the boats was actually sailing by most of the museums in town. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to not only get a closer look to some of the museums, but also taking a tour around the canals of Amsterdam. My main priority was to see the Van Gogh museum but I was hoping to catch a glimpse of both Anne Frank's House and the Rembrandt museum as well.

I got my ticket and hopped on board the boat, ready to enjoy Amsterdam from the waterside.

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**A/N: **I know this was mainly a little sightseeing, they won't all be like this, but it was necessary to get the story to the next point.

If you want to chat with me on twitter you can, I'm jools_dk


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